This application relates to new chemical compounds. More particularly, it relates to new chemical compounds which have the ability to inhibit the degradation of cartilage, when administered to a mammalian subject afflicted with an arthritic disease.
Cartilage is a proteinaceous material found in the joints of mammals. It is an elastic, spongy substance which covers the articular surfaces of the bones within the synovial cavity. The presence of cartilage, with its special properties of compressibility, elasticity and deformability, permits joints to carry out their two major functions, which are to bear weight and facilitate locomotion.
However, in certain disease states of mammals, such as osteoarthritis or hypertrophic arthritis, degeneration of joints occurs, and a major component of this degeneration is loss, or degeneration, of cartilage. It is an object of this invention to provide a method for inhibiting the degradation of cartilage in a joint of a mammalian subject.